"Don't listen to them. Can you just counter? I'm begging you, you can't be in trouble. If something happens to you, how will I live?"
At this moment, Jiang Qingqing wished she could take his place, but she was held captive, and no amount of struggle was of any use.
"Qingqing, I'm fine." Zhang Liunian looked like he'd been wrung out of blood. He looked up at Jiang Qingqing in the distance, trying hard to offer her a smile, but then his thigh was chopped. He instantly knelt on one knee, supported by one hand on the ground.
Coincidentally, where his large hand landed, there was a knife. He quietly picked it up, waiting for his chance.
"No!" Jiang Qingqing screamed.
Gu Changqing was ecstatic. He turned and told someone to take his small knife, "You hold her for me." After saying this, he went towards Zhang Liunian.
Jiang Qingqing wanted to take this opportunity to escape, but two men held her on either side, preventing her from succeeding.
"Hahaha, you country bumpkin, you finally have a day like this. It's truly satisfying. Weren't you very arrogant before? Are you still arrogant?"
Gu Changqing looked at Zhang Liunian, who dared not fight back, his nostrils flaring with pride.
But just as he was gloating, a knife was silently placed against his neck.
"Let Qingqing go, or I'll take your life." Zhang Liunian's voice appeared by Gu Changqing's ear, shocking Gu Changqing into stunned silence.
He hadn't even seen how Zhang Liunian moved, and in the blink of an eye, he was behind him, holding a small knife to his neck.
How could this be? How dare he do this to him? He was the eldest son of the Gu family, the young master of a top factory in Pengcheng. Zhang Liunian actually dared to hold a knife to his neck. He was crazy.
"I advise you to release me quickly. I am the eldest son of the Gu family. You can't touch me."
"Is that so? Then try me." Zhang Liunian sneered, and with a backhand, he slashed Gu Changqing's shoulder, then continued to hold the knife to his neck.
"Ah, it hurts." Gu Changqing cried out in pain and began to panic. This country bumpkin really dared to do anything. What should he do? How could he escape from his grasp?
That's right, he still had Zhang Liunian's most precious wife.
"Country bumpkin, you... you think I'm afraid of you? If you dare to touch me again, I'll make you watch your wife die before your eyes." Gu Changqing deeply regretted not being able to restrain himself and coming over to do it himself, only to be taken hostage.
If he had known things would turn out this way, he would never have come. Unfortunately, a thousand gold pieces couldn't buy an "if only I had known."
"Is that so? Let's see how tough your life is." Zhang Liunian spoke, then stabbed Gu Changqing in the stomach twice more, causing Gu Changqing to cry out in pain, clutching his stomach and sweating.
"Ah, you country bumpkin, you punk! What are you standing there for? Quickly take him down!" Gu Changqing, contorted in pain, wished he could kill Zhang Liunian right then and there. Gritting his teeth, he gave the order.
The thugs heard this and naturally wanted to act, but Zhang Liunian held Gu Changqing in front of him. "No one moves. If anyone moves, I'll cut your boss."
After saying this, he first stabbed Gu Changqing twice in the leg, then made a cut on Gu Changqing's neck, making Gu Changqing feel the terror of blood flowing from his neck.
Although Gu Changqing feared nothing, he cherished his life. The moment he felt the pain, he screamed, "Don't move, don't move."
The thugs listened to him obediently. As soon as he spoke, they immediately fell silent and waited for orders.
"Country bumpkin, ah, no, Zhang Liunian, let's talk properly. Can we talk properly?
I'm telling you, if anything happens to me, my father will hunt you down, no matter where you go." Gu Changqing had never regretted provoking Zhang Liunian so much before. If he had known Zhang Liunian was such a tough nut to crack and would act without regard for consequences, he would never have sought trouble with him again and again.
"You want to talk properly now? Impossible. We'll just die together." Zhang Liunian's vision began to blur. He knew it was due to excessive blood loss, so he gritted his teeth and forced himself not to collapse.
Gu Changqing, whom he held in his hand, was not much better. Although he had fewer stab wounds, the holes Zhang Liunian had made in him were gushing blood. He felt that if he didn't get treatment soon, he might really die here.
Thinking of this, he immediately panicked. He was still so young and didn't want to die!
"I'll have them release your wife, and you release me. How about that?"
"You've tormented us so badly, and you think it can be so easily forgotten? Impossible." Zhang Liunian saw his eagerness to leave and get treatment, gritting his teeth and holding on.
"What do you want me to do for you to let me go? Do you want me to bark like a dog? I'll bark, okay? Woof woof, woof woof. Can you let me go now? If you don't let me go, I'll die." Gu Changqing was even crying by the end.
At this moment, he had forgotten all his grievances and just wanted to get treatment quickly and not bleed to death.
But the more he acted like this, the less Zhang Liunian was willing to let him go. "You think this is enough? Dream on."
"Then what else do you want?" Gu Changqing was truly crying. He had already barked like a dog, so why wasn't this person letting him go?
"An apology and compensation. Also, you touched Qingqing's hand earlier. I want to cripple them all."
"No, don't! I apologize, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'll give you compensation too." Gu Changqing screamed when he heard that his hand was going to be crippled. Then he had someone bring a bankbook to Zhang Liunian.
"There's two million inside. Can this buy my hands? Can we release each other now?"
"..."
Zhang Liunian twitched the corner of his mouth. He never expected him to be so afraid of death, yielding so much money with just a few words.
"If you don't release her soon, your wife will also bleed to death. Then you won't even have a place to cry." Seeing that the other party was still not agreeing while looking at the bankbook, Gu Changqing's eyes rolled as he used Jiang Qingqing to negotiate.
He had to admit, with this move, Zhang Liunian did show some urgency. "Have them come over. We'll release each other simultaneously."
"Hurry up and come over." Gu Changqing's voice grew weaker. After shouting this, he felt the blood flowing even more freely from his wounds.
Hearing this, the thugs immediately brought Jiang Qingqing over.
"Liunian..." Jiang Qingqing looked at Zhang Liunian, who was covered in blood, and her eyes were red and swollen from crying.
"I'll count to three, and we release them together." Zhang Liunian twitched the corner of his mouth and spoke to the people holding Jiang Qingqing.
"Okay, count quickly." Gu Changqing's body began to turn cold; he just wanted to leave quickly.
"One, two, three, release!" Zhang Liunian was also nearing his limit. He immediately started counting. As soon as he finished, he let go of Gu Changqing, and the thugs on the other side also released Jiang Qingqing.
The hostage exchange was complete. Zhang Liunian hugged his wife, his vision darkening. Gu Changqing was not much better. He only managed to say, "Take me to the hospital quickly," before falling into a coma.